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So there was obviously you know stuff that has been in storage anyway for a long period
of time.
Last October I relocated to the northern rivers In New South Wales and in the move I went
what's in that box and lo and behold there was a dusty mini disc player. So I got it out
looked at it and couldn't believe it because it was labelled but I'd forgotten all about it!
It was a live disc tape from the sound board of the first performance at Byron Bay Blues
Festival 2004 which was the first iteration of the Fortune Tellers and the first time I put
together a touring band and that was done for a tour with Hubert Sumlin, Howling Wolf's
guitarist.
So, when I found it, I was, you
know, I almost didn't have the
heart to listen to it for a couple
of weeks because I remembered
that as being such a magical tour
and such a performance, and it
led to it to a friendship with
Hubert Sumlin, which I really
valued. And I, you know, I didn't
want the reality to mar the
magic of my memory. But as it
turned out, when I listened to it,
I was thrilled. I thought the
performance had really stood
up, and it was wonderful. Given
that we have lost both Hubert
and Chris Wilson, who was an incredible mentor to me also.
FD: Absolutely, And how did you first meet up with the late Hubert Sumlin, I mean this
is a man that is ranked number 43 on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of all time,
not to mention his impact on numerous musicians. How did you first make his
introduction?
FB: Hubert Sumlin is a very interesting, quite idiosyncratic player. But he's also the
guitarist that the people like Eric Clapton and Keith Richards said was the guy for them
in terms of his guitar stylings and where he took blues guitar at the time. So yeah, I met
Hubert when I picked him up at Melbourne Airport to start this tour. So, and I was quite
beside myself because, as someone who was and is a fan of the music first before I became
a player. You know, I remember first hearing Howling Wolf, and you know Hubert was a
big part of Howling Wolf's ensemble sound.
And you know, I could not believe I was getting to meet Hubert, let alone play with him
because originally, this was in 2004, so it came off the back of a huge year for me.
2003 was my first ever visit to America and I performed, competed, and won at the
International Blues Challenge, which was a, you know, an incredible experience, but it
opened doors for me. And one of the things that happened there was I had jammed with
Bob Margolin, who was longtime guitarist with Muddy Waters and I also went back to the

